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Grey's Anatomy: Are Alex and Jo Really Going to Break Up?

For a hospital that has been dominated by on-call room romps and various hookups, it should come as no surprise that the new rule barring superiors from dating their subordinates will cause quite a stir at Grey Sloan Memorial. We'll learn during Thursday's Grey's Anatomythat this is especially difficult for Alex (Justin Chambers) and Jo (Camilla Luddington), who, because they're not married, are technically no longer allowed to date.

"They're dealing with it horribly," Luddington tells TVGuide.com from the set of the ABC medical drama. "It's really jarring. They think it's completely hypocritical. Jo is on damage control. She wants to do anything in her power that she can to make sure that she and Alex can still be together, but the powers that be make it extremely difficult for that to happen."

If you caught the promo for this week's Grey's, it seems like Alex and Jo are headed for a big breakup, but that could be deceiving. In fact, Chambers says Alex will work to hang onto the one good thing in his life. "Commitment phobias are still [there]," Chambers says and explains that the rule will force them to really look towards the future. "I think they make a great couple and complement each other."

"She's very careful with her relationships," Luddington adds. "It took her a long time to even let Alex know that she liked him and had those feelings. Even then, she was wary about keeping it as friends because she felt like she'd ruin stuff."

But Alex finally confronting his father has made him a better man, one who wants to take the next step with Jo, as evidenced by his impromptu proposal before April's (Sarah Drew) wedding. "Alex realizes that he was better off that his dad wasn't part of his life because maybe he wouldn't have become a working professional if he was always picking up after his dad," Chambers says. "That was a really mature realization for him. I think it helps that he's in a more stable relationship with Jo. They're there for each other. That stability has given him more of an insight on how to handle things. We're going to see him mature. Jo is making him more responsible."

However, Jo might not be so mature when she blames Stephanie (Jerrika Hinton) as the culprit behind the lawsuit that birthed the new rule at the hospital. "Jo assumes by process of elimination that it's Stephanie because of everything that happened with April and Jackson [Jesse Williams]," Luddington says. "She feels betrayed a little bit by her friend. Jo feels like there haven't been many good relationships in her life, so Alex is someone who is beyond special to her. It's not just a boyfriend that she's in love with. For someone to potentially threaten that in a way that she feels is selfish, ridiculous and over the top, she feels betrayed. She's really upset. She's a little vicious about it almost."